Browns coach Hue Jackson defended starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor on Monday as Cleveland’s players, coaches and fans digested how a season opener that could have ended with the team’s first win since 2016 turned into a painful 21-21 draw against the Pittsburgh Steelers — the NFL’s first Week 1 tie in 47 years.

Of course, because this is Cleveland, where quarterback criticism is passed down through generations, much of the postgame blame was directed at Taylor, who completed just 15 of 40 passes, got sacked seven times and missed a few open receivers in his first start for the Browns.

Jackson stiffened when he was asked what kind of leash he intends to have on Taylor, who was acquired in March from Buffalo and will start until the Browns feel the No. 1 overall pick Mayfield is ready.

“Leash?” Jackson said. “We are trying to win. His job is to get the offense to play the best that it can play, but it takes more than just him. I know the sentiment I am getting here is that it is him. It is not.

“It is the offensive unit as a whole. Got to play better. Whether that is newness or whatever it is, I do not want to get caught up in all of that.”

Taylor had moments of indecisiveness Sunday, but that may have had as much to do with Pittsburgh’s pass rush and an offense with several new faces, including rookie left tackle Desmond Harrison.

But while supporting his QB, Jackson acknowledged that Taylor underthrew receiver Josh Gordon on a potential big play and he needs to be more accurate.

“Improve, complete the ball,” Jackson said when asked what Taylor needs to do for the Browns to win on Sunday at New Orleans.

“Complete the ball. Complete the ball. I mean we have got to play better offensively, it is not just him. We have got to play better around him. He has to play better. We have to play better as an offensive unit.

“We did not play very well yesterday, let’s just be honest. We need to play better.”

It’s almost inconceivable the Browns didn’t win.

Coming off a 0-16 season, they became the first team not to win with a plus-5 turnover differential or better since Arizona was beaten at Atlanta in 2012. And, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams with a plus-5 turnover differential or better are 132-4-1 since 1999.

The beleaguered Browns have two of those losses and now the tie.

For now, Taylor has the team’s unwavering support. But it will be interesting to see if that commitment can withstand another subpar performance or two.

One of the knocks on Taylor in Buffalo was that he often missed throws he should have completed, and that he was afraid to attempt passes over the middle.

Jackson wouldn’t pinpoint Taylor’s problems in the opener — he led the team in rushing and ran for a TD — but made it clear the 28-year-old had better step up his game.

“Not good enough TJ Brodie Jersey ,” Jackson said. “What I am also saying in there is that it is not all him. Sometimes guys got to be in the right spot. Protection has to hold up for him. All of those things in a passing game make a difference. It is not just him. Does he have to do his job better? Yes. I think everyone around him has to do their job better, too.”

NOTES: Jackson said a “miscommunication” resulted in Gordon starting Sunday after the coach had vehemently expressed there would be consequences for the receiver missing three-plus weeks of training camp to address his sobriety. But on Cleveland’s first play, Gordon lined up wide in a three-tight end personnel package. “The game’s over with now, so to talk about it, what’s it going to do? Nothing,” said Jackson, who has turned play calling over to coordinator Todd Haley this season. “I’ve dealt with it. We move on.” Gordon played 68 snaps, but was only targeted three times. His only catch was a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Surpeme Court struck down a 26-year-old federal ban on sports betting on Monday, allowing states to decide whether they want to allow legal wagers on football, basketball, baseball, hockey and other games. Here’s a look at what that means:

SO, WHEN CAN I BET ON SPORTS?

Soon, depending on where you live. Officials in three states – Delaware, Mississippi and New Jersey – have pledged to start accepting legal bets within weeks. Three others already had laws on the books authorizing sports betting in the event of a favorable Supreme Court decision, although there likely will be more debate about the specifics. More than a dozen other states either have active legislation to authorize sports gambling or have considered it in the past. Expect those discussions to ramp up, along with more aggressive lobbying in those states by sports book operators and the professional leagues.

WHO WILL ACCEPT BETS?

It will vary from state to state. Some have authorized commercial casinos to open sports books, while some will offer sports betting products through their state lotteries. Aside from the few states that have worked out those details already, lawmakers and regulators will be deciding whether to allow bets to be placed at casinos, horse racing tracks, off-track betting parlors or even stadiums, and whether to allow online and mobile betting.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE LEAGUES?

The four major U.S. professional leagues and the NCAA spent years fighting New Jersey’s challenge to the constitutionality of the federal ban. Nonetheless, the commissioners of the NBA and Major League Baseball have both said they’re open to the prospect of legal gambling – on their terms. The NBA and MLB have been lobbying states to give a small percentage of the amount wagered back to the league offices. They say they deserve a cut because gambling is entirely dependent on their business, and they need to spend more money to guard against potentially devastating game-fixing scandals. Casino interests argue that Nevada does just fine regulating gambling and flagging suspicious behavior without sending money directly to the leagues.

The NFL Authentic Vladimir Tarasenko Jersey , the nation’s most popular spectator sport, will have to reckon with its longstanding opposition to gambling, which many critics say is hypocritical because the league encourages fantasy sports, publishes detailed injury reports that help bookies set odds and schedules several games every season in London, where in-stadium betting is legal. League owners also approved the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, gambling’s mecca in the United States. With the fight against expanded gambling lost for now, the NFL could use its powerful lobbying muscle to partner with the NBA and MLB and seek new federal regulations.

Gambling proponents argue that the leagues will benefit through sponsorships and other tie-ins with sports book operators and enhanced fan interest in their games.

”I think everybody who owns top-four professional sports team just basically saw the value of their team double at least,” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told CNBC on Monday.

HOW WILL THIS CHANGE THE FAN EXPERIENCE?

Once sports betting becomes more widely legal, fans can expect to have the opportunity to bet on their phones during games, a common practice in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. Television ratings and subscriptions to streaming services could increase because fans are more interested in games that don’t involve their hometown teams. And discussion of point spreads, over/unders and prop bets could become more common among broadcasters and journalists as they seek to remain relevant to how fans are thinking about sports.

WILL ILLEGAL BOOKIES GO OUT OF BUSINESS?

Probably not, said Kate Lowenhar-Fisher, a Las Vegas-based attorney who chairs the gaming practice at Dickinson Wright. Illegal bookies have longstanding relationships with their customers, some of whom prefer the anonymity of gambling offshore, and they don’t have to pay taxes or fees. Plus, with states legalizing sports betting in a piecemeal fashion, illegal operators will continue to be more convenient for many bettors.

Savvy businesspeople are also likely to create new gambling products that aren’t specifically addressed by state laws, just as daily fantasy sports companies did while the federal ban was in place.

”Americans will continue to be entrepreneurial, especially finding a way to evade all the compliance costs, tax costs, regulatory costs,” Lowenhar-Fisher said. ”That’s exactly what the fantasy sports operators tried to do – offer sports betting without having to deal with all the things a sports book operator has to deal with.”